Strand unwinding apparatus



Aug. 8, 1933. H. P. ARKEMA STRAND UNWINDING APPARATUS Filed May 27,1.929

Patented Aeg. si, isss lsztstz S TRAND UNWINDING APPARATUS Harold PeterArkema, Chicago, `lill., assigner to l Western Electric Company,incorporated, New York, N. Y., a Corporation of New Yori;

Application May 27, 1929. lEverial bla-366,125

Claims.

` rlhis invention relates to strand unwinding apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus for `unwindingline wire from a stationary reelsup` f wire may be withdrawn at a high rate of speed and there is atendency forgthe Wire to break at the reel due to its binding, stickingor becoming entangled withadjacent turns of the wire upon the reel.

An object of this invention is to provide an eflicient, and economicalapparatus for unwinding a stationary supply of strand material.l

In accordance with this object one embodi-` ment of the inventionconsists oi a base which is attachedv to the frame of the wire drawingmachine andwhich supports asleeve for centering and maintaining a reelof supply Wire in' a stationary vertical position. A plug inserted andlocked within thegsleeve-by ay bayonet slotl construction clamps thereel to the sleeve and jour' nals a spindle which mounts a iiier-arm fordirecting the withdrawn wire away from the reel. An adjustable bushingand a resilient member regulate the resistance 'with which the spindle jrotates in the plug to control the tension of the wire drawn through theflier-arm, and the ilierarm is adjustable laterally of the spindle.

A clear understanding of the invention will be had from the followingdescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,wherein Fig. 1 is a plan' view of the unwinding apparatus;

Fig. 2 is an elevational section thereof, taken substantially throughthe center, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2showing the detail of the bayonet slot.

Referring now to the drawing in which like numerals designate similarparts in ythe several views, there is disclosed a portion 5 of the frameof a wire drawing machine having a boss 6 which may be used inothercases for directly centering an upright reel of wire for supplyingthe wire drawing machine. A cylindrical base or stand 7 is providedsurrounding the boss 6 for'supporting the structure of this inventionand' this base is secured to the boss by means of a plug 8 threaded inthe base and engaging a'bushing 9 threaded in the boss. A screwlO locksthe plug 8 in the base, and it is apparent that the cylindrical base 7is secured to the boss by rotating the base to engage theplug 8 thereofwith the bushing 9 of the boss. I

A cylindrical sleeve 13 is provided extending upwards from `the base 7and integral therewith; which furnishes a conical surface 14 joiningwith 60 the base. Inside of the sleeve 13 a cylindrical plug 15 isinserted and'locked by engaging a bayonet slot 16 with a projecting pin17 fixed to the sleeve. The plug 15 is furnished with a conical surface18 corresponding to the conical surface 65 14 at the lower end of theSleeve, but disposed in the inverse direction. y

A ball bearing 20 is seated within a groove in the upper end of the plug15 and is lretained therein by an annular plate 21 secured by screws 7022v to the plug. A spindle 23 with an upper diminished end portion 24projecting through av centralapertureintheplate 21 is journalled withinthe bearing 20 and hasy a shoulder 25 for abutting against the lowervside of lthe ball bearing. The lower end 26 of the spindle-23 isalsodiminished'in diameter and is provided with a shoulder 27. f AiringV 28is driven over the lower end 26 of the spindle up to the shoulder 27, oris keyed thereagainst', and a spring 29 and a 80 Washer 30 are insertedover the end 26 up to the ring 28. A bushingl provided witha slidingshoulder 32 is then inserted over the end 25 of the spindle forjournalling it and is threaded into the plug 15 up against the washer 30to compress 85 the spring 29 against the collar 28 securedv to thespindle. A lock nutk 33 abutting against the lower end of the plug 15locks the bushing 3l in position. By rotating the bushing 31 within theplug 15it is apparent that the spring 29 may 90 be compressed variousamounts against the ring 28 to regulate the ease with which the spindle23 will rotate.

A nier-arm 35 of any suitable material such as a spring metal, providedwith a spirally 'formed and locked by engaging the bayonet slot 16 with105 the pin 17 of the sleeve, thus securing the reel in a fixedstationary position. The conical surl faces 18 of the plug and 14 of thebase provide a wedging t with the reel. The bushing 31 has beenpreviously adjusted to produce the properI ing the spindle in afixedfpositon so that .neithercan be accidentally moved out of positionto stop" tion so that the Wire will not bind orstick to" adjoining turnson the reel, and' it" also'serves' to regulate the tension in theWithdrawn wire.

In this way small gauge Wireninay b'edrawn' from' the reel at a rapidrate without breakiiigo b ecoming entangled. It will also be notedth'atqthis structure maintainsv both the r'eeland plug houstheysiredrawing operation. Y( K j Thus it is believed to be apparent from theforegoing description that this unwinding apparatus is bothl eii'icientin operationand ecof; noxnieal'- in construction'. vIt i s,'ofcourse, tobe understood [that this stucture maybe used for unwinding otherstrandmaterial-than ine wire,

`and is not to be'limited-bythe specific embodiment herefdisclosed,butonly by the scopel of the; appended claims.

1. In a strand unwinding apparatusgvapbase, a sleevesupported'by-thebaseand having a tapered surface -for centering. a lsupply reelvr of thestrand,

. anda plugvwith-aftapered surface insertible in the sleevefor securingthe supply reelY thereto, thej plughaving al. bayonet slot makinglengagenient with afprojecting'pin of'- tle lsleeve to lockthepiugtherem. 1 2;,.In strand-unvvinding apparatus,` ymeans forsupporting a supply vreel of the strand, ahousing insertible withinthegcenter of` the reel, a' spindle mountedz Within the housing;vaqflierarm' supvvportedr bythey spindle vfor directing'` the strand soy'to aboss-of the frame of a machine, a cylindrical base for tting aroundthe boss, and a threaded plug secured to the center of the bottom of theba'sefor securing the base to the boss.

4. In a strand unwinding apparatus, a stationary base having a sleeve,means engaging the sleeve for clamping a supply reel thereon including ahollow plug slidableinto the sleeve and .provided with a threadedportion, a spindle mounted in the hollow plug, means affixed to one'eiidof the plug to provide a bearing for one end of thel spindle, adjustablemeans engaging the threadedportion of the plug to provide a bearing fortheroppositeend'of the spindle and to cooperate therewith for retardingthe rotation ofthe spindle, and a flier arin of adjustable effective4length rnounted on thespindle for' di- 100 rect-ingv thestrand awayfrom' the supply reel.

5. In a strand unwinding apparatus, a stationary base having aV sleeve,ymeans engaging the sleeve for clamping a supply. reel on the sleeveincluding a hollow plug, a sl'zindley r'ota'tablyv 105 mounted in theplug and provided with shoulders on the opposite` ends thereof, meansaftixed to one end ofthe plug to' engage vthe shouldr'at one end of thespindle, means including` an adjustable bushing and cooperating springmounted in an opposite endo'f vthe plug to 'engage the shoulder on theoppositeend ofthe spindlathe yrotation fof: the spindle being retardedby' varyingthey frictional effectI ofthe slioulders'by ad'- justment ofythe bushing and the`- spring, vand an 'adjustable' .ier' arni aflixedto the spindle'Y for directing the strand a'way frorrr the reel;

HARQLD PETER' ARKEMA. y

